TUESDAY- Back to work for the UConn football team after as demoralizing loss as you could experience on Saturday to Rutgers. Randy Edsall today spoke about the "Prime Time Exposure" of playing Saturday night at 8 pm on ABC and the Elite Broadcasting Team (and no, this time, he is not talking about Kay-Nay, the Mayor and moi). It is exciting for the coaches , players and fans.
Having said that, playing in prime time is one thing, playing in prime time against the #4 /#5/#7 team in the country is another. Cincinnati is proving that last year's unexpected run to the Big East Championship was not a fluke. Brian Kelly (not the same guy who played Porter Ricks, the dad on the immortal TV 60's hit Flipper (They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,No one you see, is smarter than he,And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
Flying there under, under the sea! )I digress, much to the chagrin of Chip Malafronte and Ed Daignault sitting next to me here in the bowels of Gampel.
Anyway, Brian Kelly, the Cincinnati head coach has rebuilt his defense which lost 10 starters from last season. His offense leads the league in passing offense, total offense ,scoring offense and has turned the ball over only FOUR TIMES IN EIGHT GAMES. Tony Pike, who had made himself a legitimate contender for the Heisman, will probably miss his third straight game with an injured left arm. But Zach Collaros has stepped in and the 'Cats havent missed a beat. Collaros is more of a running threat than Pike but is still averaging 274 yards thru the air in his two starts. He throws to the leagues most talented receiver in Mardy Gilliard who is also a kick return demon.
The Huskies seem to have bounced back from the devestating nature of Saturdays setback. To a man, the players pledge that they haven't gotten depressed, that they are ready to keep going and they still have high hopes for the season.
Zach Frazier seems confident he can step in at quarterback and play like he did in the fourth quarter of Saturday for the entire game. (BTW, is this the first time in FBS history that the two starting quarterback will be named Zach? Where is the former Sports Information Director for Football and Minutiae , Leigh Torbin when you need him.)
Ok, more as we get closer to kickoff..Coaches Show Guests this week are Marcus "The Big" Easley and Kendall Reyes. Thanks to readers of Chip's blog "Rambling From the Runway" for the Easley nickname.
And oh yes, BASKETBALL BEGINS TOMORROW NIGHT. 6:30 pre from the XL as the Huskies play exhibition game #1 vs AIC.
